The USC Alumni Center fittingly was where former Gamecock quarterback Tommy Suggs received an award from the South Carolina Broadcasters Association Thursday evening during the SCBA's Awards of Distinction ceremony.
Suggs was given an Honorary Life Membership by the SCBA for his 47 years in the broadcast booth serving as the color analyst for the Gamecock Radio Network.
The Lamar native made a seamless transition from the quarterback who led the Gamecocks to the 1969 ACC Championship to someone who excelled in private business. His job as a color analyst really isn't a job for him given his affection for the program.
He has worked with three play-by-play broadcaster partners in Bob Fulton, Charlie MacAlexander and Todd Ellis. The current Voice of Gamecock Football was there along with statistician Douglas Adams and spotter David Spence, all of whom spend 12 Saturdays in the fall in the broadcast booth working together to bring fans the action over the airwaves. Chris Miller, who hosts the pre-game and post-game shows on the network made the trip from Rock Hill for the annual gathering of the state's broadcasters which on this night, honored someone whose broadcasting training came from the late Bob Fulton who was there for Suggs' first year in the booth. 47 years later and Suggs' passion for describing the action of his beloved Gamecocks is as strong as ever.
HBC in town
A special guest at the ceremony was South Carolina's all-time winningest football coach Steve Spurrier who came to support his friend who obviously had a great view of what the HBC accomplished during his time in Columbia.